Game Thread: Texas Tech Vs. Jalen Hurts
- Thread starter BAMA 22 HEISMAN
- Start date
Tidefans is the only rival team board I've ever visited that isn't overtly defensive and unwilling to deal with a different opinion. Ive been banned from numerous rival boards so I know what I'm talking about. A respectful and knowledgeable board illicits respectful and knowledgeable discourse. Its been that way since I first posted here during our early 2000's home/home.
I know, I said I was moving on from this thread but I saw an interview with Joel Klatt in which he alluded to what I was talking about in terms of Jalen's time at Alabama but in a more understandable fashion. Klatt opined that in HCNS's system the QB has simply been asked to manage the game efficiently and let the running game and D win it. At OU, under HCLR, Hurts has been cut loose in a system much more QB friendly. Klatt went on to say that HCNS changed his approach when Tua came along and now Tua had been cut loose much in the same manner that Riley operates.
What he didn't say is that Jalen was allowed to cut loose last year at Alabama, but he lost his job because he was incapable of "cutting it loose" during his freshman-sophomore seasons. Go watch Jalen's play in those seasons. See what Tua did with the same play calls in Jalen's sophomore season. These were the same exact play calls, but Jalen was being conservative (afraid to put the ball in danger) while Tua was throwing his receivers open and giving his receivers a chance to make plays.
Klatt, and everyone else who says this, is flat wrong. Jalen was not held back by anyone but Jalen. After he lost the job to Tua he changed his play and started making passes that he never would have considered in his previous 2 seasons. OU got that player - the one who learned to take advantage of all the tools at his disposal, but only after he lost his job to someone who was already doing so.
The important takeaway - in 2017, Jalen and Tua both got the same exact RPO play calls. Jalen was the starter and played conservative while Tua, in a backup role, played wide open. It was not Saban or the OC - it was Jalen.
With the kinda offense OU runs, they don't need a great defense...they just needed a bit more than what they got in 2017 and 2018. I'd agree that it seems like OU is better on defense. OU's D is not going to be mistaken for their early 2000s units but it may just be good enough. We shall see.
I cannot argue with you on your point. I just keep asking myself why is what I'm seeing out of Jalen so extraordinary relative to what I expected? I cannot explain his arm strength, his touch, his accuracy and after watching the 2 recent HT winners guide our O I'm truly stunned at how good Jalen is. There has to be an explanation and the same question could be asked about Fields and Burrows. The logical explanation is coaching and a more friendly scheme. I watched that Baylor QB when he was in the Big 12 and when he transferred to Auburn he regressed in my opinion. Why do some succeed at a new place and others dont? I'm not smart enough to know.
IMO, if he had stayed at Alabama and Tua could not play for some reason this year, you would be seeing the same Jalen at Alabama that you are seeing at OU. We saw it in the GA game last year. He was ready, but Alabama had Tua.
Frankly, lower quality competition is a big explanation. Hurts always performed very well against lower quality defensive outfits. Jalen could've not improved at all since 2017 and still been performing at a high level against OU's competition in 2019. He has improved though. We saw that in 2018 to some extent.
To be fair, he is throwing passes to receivers that are somewhat covered today, and he is throwing over the middle in a crowd - passes that he would not have made in 2017. He is giving his receivers a chance to make a play. But we saw that last year, so no difference from last year, but a big difference from 2016 & 2017.
I agree. I dont buy into the competition argument. You make tge throws you make the throws. He is stepping up in the pocket. He is dropping long domes. He is hitting slants and out routes on time. He is making back shoulder throws with accuracy. It's an incredible story.
I agree with all of this, B1GTide. Of course, I don't watch every play of every Alabama game, as most of you do, so I don't claim to have your knowledge regarding Jalen's play in 2016 and 2017. But it's obvious even to me that his play had improved by 2018, even though he didn't get to play nearly as much as he did in those earlier seasons. Tua, on the other hand, seems to have been ready to play QB from the moment he stepped on the field.
I was mildly surprised when Jalen came off the bench a few times during the 2018 season, and made throws he had not even been trying to make the prior years. I was stunned when he did what he did against Georgia in the SEC championship.
As B1GTide said, OU got that player, not the freshman/sophomore who wouldn't even try a contested throw and mostly bombed against elite competition. Lincoln Riley is a great OC. And I'm sure he's tweaked a few things for Jalen. But the vast majority of what you are seeing on the field this season was in place when he announced his transfer to Oklahoma.
Jalen fits some offenses better than others. I think he has improved quite a bit (some while here and some after) but I have a feeling he'd have a harder time running the offense we are running this year.
I think Krazy has pointed out in the past that Daboll's offense was not a good fit for Jalen and I think that has proven to be the case. I think Sark's offense also would not be the best offense for him.
I think there may be a little bit of pride going on here because I do think Lincoln Riley has helped Jalen grow and he's also designed an offense that really allows Jalen to thrive.
I think Krazy has pointed out in the past that Daboll's offense was not a good fit for Jalen and I think that has proven to be the case. I think Sark's offense also would not be the best offense for him.
I think there may be a little bit of pride going on here because I do think Lincoln Riley has helped Jalen grow and he's also designed an offense that really allows Jalen to thrive.
I generally regard Klatt as being pretty shallow and don't pay a lot of attention to him. He's generally on but it ignores what has been discussed above. The freshman, even the sophomore Hurts didn't have the skills to be "cut loose." Hurts' father was up front about pushing Jalen towards Bama in hopes that he would learn enough passing to be an NFL QB. He worked and worked on his passing and, by the time Riley got him, he could be "cut loose"...
Not to over-simplify but in one word DEFENSE. It makes playing QB harder when there's a better defense across the LOS.
And one other thing: QBs get better and grow as they get older. That has a lot to do with Burrows and Jalen being improved.
Jalen has been a Sooner, what 4 or 5 months? I'm already a little protective I guess. I hope my comments weren't taken as being too critical. I like this kid a lot, as I'm sure you all do too. How epic would a Tua v Jalen playoff game be? Best of luck the rest of the way.
Yeah, it's a lot easier to play QB when you're virtually playing against air in most of your games...
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So who or what qualifies as a good defense? Over the past 6 years we have played 6 SEC teams and average slightly more than 38 points per game. Arguably the best of the D's was Georgia and we hung 31 on them at the half. Our O and or our QB's have not been the problem. Our D has been the problem.
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